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During his State of the Union speech, Trump called for bipartisan unity in order to move the country forward. In reality, it came across as more of a threat. He all but said, “If you don’t end the investigations into my campaign, my business and my administration, and if you don’t build my wall, I will refuse to work with you.”

Ignoring the threat, it’s telling that only now, after two years in office, Trump is reaching out to Democrats calling for an end to revenge politics. He certainly has made no previous efforts to promote unity. Indeed, he has attacked Democrats at every opportunity calling them names and questioning their intelligence or patriotism. One can only conclude that he is worried about what the investigations might reveal. After all, the investigations have already resulted in numerous indictments, convictions and guilty pleas of members of his campaign, his staff and his long-time personal attorney.

In addition, the ongoing investigations are likely to reveal fraudulent activity by his inaugural committee, his cabinet members, his business and his family. These investigations should not be considered vindictive. They are simply the result of justice and appropriate oversight.

The investigations aside, Trump and the GOP have some nerve calling for unity now. Where was the call for unity when Mitch McConnell and his GOP comrades announced that their primary goal was to make Barack Obama a one-term president? When they were determined to make his efforts fail? When they refused to hold confirmation hearings and votes on Obama’s judicial nominations? When they filibustered virtually every piece of Democratic legislation? When they held endless investigations into Benghazi and Hillary’s use of a private email server? When Trump and his supporters chanted “lock her up” during and after the campaign? When Trump made it his priority to undo and overturn virtually every accomplishment of the Obama administration? When he undermined the Affordable Care Act and rolled back environmental protections?

It seems clear that, despite the many Democratic efforts for bipartisanship, the GOP only seems interested in comity and unity when it serves their purposes and protects them from justice and oversight. Then, and only then, they are worried about revenge politics. And, too often, Democrats have accommodated them.

After Nixon committed treason by undermining the Vietnam peace talks and interfering with the 1972 election, Democrats let him resign and allowed his successor to pardon him. After Reagan committed treason by undermining the Iran hostage negotiations and illegally selling arms to Iran in order to fund the Contras in Central America, Democrats allowed George H.W. Bush to pardon those involved. And after Bush and the GOP took us to war in Iraq under false pretenses, Democrats let them off the hook for their lies.

This time must be different. Certainly, Democrats should work across the aisle in order to accomplish their campaign promises for the benefit of the nation. But they must not prematurely end the investigations. They must not abdicate their obligation to oversee the decisions of this administration. They must not bow down to this wannabe dictator.

And they absolutely must hold those who have committed crimes accountable regardless of the title before their names.

In March of this year, President Obama called for Congress to approve a $21 billion package designed to update our crumbling infrastructure and create jobs. “Let’s get this done. Let’s rebuild this country we love. Let’s make sure we’re staying on the cutting edge,” Obama said, calling for a “partnership to rebuild America.”

As part of the package, Obama proposed creating an infrastructure bank to help seed major projects. In addition, his proposal would invest $4 billion to support the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) designed to leverage private and non-federal funding for projects of regional or national significance through loans, loan guarantees and lines of credit. The proposal also called for tax incentives meant to support state and municipal bonds for infrastructure modernization projects. The president noted that both the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and labor unions back infrastructure spending.

It was met with indifference by Republicans in Congress.

Speaker John Boehner questioned how such projects would be funded. “It’s easy to go out there and be Santa Claus and talk about all the things you want to give away, but at some point somebody has to pay the bill,” he said.

Keep in mind the cost of the package was $21 billion…$3 billion less than Republicans and their Tea Party parasites squandered by shutting down the government for 16 days! Who’s going to pay that bill?

Wait! I already know the answer. If the GOP follows it’s usual protocol, the money will be taken from food stamps, kids and the working poor.